Not my cup of tea...

[purplefaithful]

Vikings’ Mike Zimmer on Rams-Chiefs fireworks: ‘Not my cup of tea’

With the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams moving the ball up and down the field in a Monday Night Football game that looked more like Arena Football, one can picture Mike Zimmer sitting at home, drinking a glass of wine and shaking his head. 
A self-proclaimed “wine guy” when he’s away from his duties as Vikings head coach — red, not white — Zimmer has garnered a reputation as a defensive mastermind over the course of his three decades in the NFL. 
In that sense, it was not surprising to learn that Zimmer had a different opinion than most about the 105 points and 1,001 yards produced in the Rams’ 54-51 victory over the Chiefs. 
“Not my cup of tea,” Zimmer said. “It might run me out of football.” 
It was the first game in NFL history in which both teams scored at least 50 points, and incited astonishment across Twitter over the better part of three hours. 
“That’s two high-powered offenses,” Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes said. “This whole year we all knew that game was going to be like that. Everyone projected that game to be like that. They have great weapons on both teams.” 
And yet, as far as Zimmer is concerned, it’s not a style that lends itself to sustained success. 
“You have to have a well-rounded team,” Zimmer said. “I don’t think that a team can give up 51 points or 54 points a lot of times and win games. That’s my opinion.” 
Maybe it’s time for him to adapt. 
In the current landscape of the NFL, a good offense tends to beat a good defense, evidenced by the fact that the New Orleans Saints (37.8 points per game), Chiefs (36.7) and Rams (35.4) are the three highest scoring teams in the league and the three best. 
In fact, scoring is up across the league this season with teams averaging 24.2 points per game. That is up 2.5 points compared to last season, and could go down as the highest average in league history. The current high record of 23.6 points per game was set in 1948. 
“I have no clue,” Rhodes said when asked why scoring is up throughout the NFL. “As a defensive guy we just have to try to stop their weapons. You know they’re going to have plays to get their guys open, so it’s about minimizing the big plays as much as possible. You have to play and sometimes they’ll get some and sometimes they won’t. You just have to do whatever it takes to win the game.” 
Meanwhile, some defensive players chose not to comment on the Monday Night Football fireworks at all. 
https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/21/mi...up-of-tea/

[Guest]

It might not be his cup of tea or mine but that is what is being served now. He needs to acknowledge the reality that this is the direction the game is going. 

[Guest]

We know, Mikey. 

You're more of a 38-7 kinda guy! 

[Guest]

[Guest]

It's not my cup of tea either...

I don't know if NFL rules will evolve to getting the defense a more level playing field or not? I hope so

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:r
It's not my cup of tea either...

I don't know if NFL rules will evolve to getting the defense a more level playing field or not? I hope so

Adapt?  It's not adapting when the very organization that runs the league tilts the field in favor of the offense.  Zim learned the game when it was a true battle of defense v. offense.

To say he hasn't grown with the game is disingenuous. To recapture it's lost fans (i.e. money) the NFL has constructed this charade that was on full display Monday night.  It may work for the NBA but we'll see how many teams follow suit.  But any defensive coordinator whose squad gives up 6 TD passes would not be employed by me.

[Guest]

2 fumble recovery TD's 
2 pick 6's 
2 TD's scored with 1 play each after a turn over 
42 points scored because of 2 Offensive plays
I would not say the d's gave up 50 plus points 
More like the D's scored 42 points

[Guest]

And yet two thirds of next year's 1st Round picks will be on the Defensive side of the ball. Will that mean that two thirds of the teams are stupid for not reaching for players on the Offensive side of the ball to improve their scoring?

[Guest]

@FSUVike said:
And yet two thirds of next year's 1st Round picks will be on the Defensive side of the ball. Will that mean that two thirds of the teams are stupid for not reaching for players on the Offensive side of the ball to improve their scoring?

Maybe. 

[Guest]

@FSUVike said:
And yet two thirds of next year's 1st Round picks will be on the Defensive side of the ball. Will that mean that two thirds of the teams are stupid for not reaching for players on the Offensive side of the ball to improve their scoring?

What does this even mean? Each draft is different, with different posisitional strengths. What does the "potential" defense heavy 1st round draft selections  in 2019 have to do with the NFL's obvious promotion of offense and the handcuffing of the defense? NOTHING. The 1st grade talent THIS year seems to be leaning to defense. So what?

Does every draft have the SAME QB depth as the 1983 class? Or this year's class? Of course not. 

The point is that over an extended period of time, OL has been relegated to a lower priority by the current personnel guru. That's not opinion, actual facts back it up.

It might turn out that 18 or 20 defensive players might be selected in the 1st round. BPA should USUALLY apply.

But there are exceptions to that rule, as there are in ALL facets of life. If a team has one player rated SLIGHTLY lower than another, but that player's position is one of DIRE need, and the drop off in the next round is significant at that position, then yes, I would agree with the logic on taking the SLIGHTLY less graded player.

Then, there is the situation when a consistently playoff winning team might "reach" for a player at a position of need, or draft a kicker/punter. I think in those circumstance, the FO gets a pass. The key is, of course, the CONSISTENT PLAYOFF WINNING part. When you suck in the postseason, you get a lot less leeway in the "potential" draft picks. 

The Vikings OL has been a joke for a while. Peterson's greatness covered up a LOT of the issues with that unit for years, but its painfully obvious the last few seasons.